Bishopwearmouth is an area in Sunderland, North East England

North East England

North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

.
Bishopwearmouth was one of the original three settlements on the banks of the river Wear

River Wear

The River Wear is located in North East England, rising in the Pennines and flowing eastwards, mostly through County Durham, to the North Sea at Sunderland.-Geology and history:...

 that merged to form modern Sunderland.
The settlement was formed in 930 when Athelstan of England

Athelstan of England

Athelstan , called the Glorious, was the King of England from 924 or 925 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder, grandson of Alfred the Great and nephew of Æthelflæd of Mercia...

 granted the lands to the Bishop of Durham. The settlement on the opposite side of the river, Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth

Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the area now known as the East End. It includes the area around St. Peter's Church...

, had been founded 250 years earlier.
The lands on the south-side of the river became known as Bishopwearmouth, a parish

Parish

A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...

 that covered around twenty square miles, encompassing settlements such as Ryhope

Ryhope

Ryhope is a coastal village along the southern boundary of the City of Sunderland, in Tyne and Wear, North East England. With a population of approximately 14,000, Ryhope is 2.9 miles to the centre of Sunderland, 2.8 miles to the centre of Seaham, and 1 .2 miles from the main A19.The older village...

 and Silksworth

Silksworth

Silksworth is a former coal mining village in Sunderland, located next to Tunstall, Farringdon and Gilley LawSilksworth a brief history:Silksworth is a former colliery village with a 100 year coal mining heritage...

 - now part of the modern Sunderland urban area.
Within the parish was another Settlement, Sunderland, which was a small fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

 port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 at the mouth of the river. Over the centuries, the port would grow in both importance and size and in 1719 was made into parish independent from Bishopwearmouth.

Bishopwearmouth Christ Church was declared redundant

Redundant church

A redundant church is a church building that is no longer required for regular public worship. The phrase is particularly used to refer to former Anglican buildings in the United Kingdom, but may refer to any disused church building around the world...

 on 11 February 1998 and later sold to become a Sikh Temple

Gurdwara

A Gurdwara , meaning the Gateway to the Guru, is the place of worship for Sikhs, the followers of Sikhism. A Gurdwara can be identified from a distance by tall flagpoles bearing the Nishan Sahib ....

 & community centre. The church of Bishopwearmouth, St. Michael's, became Sunderland Minster

Sunderland Minster

Sunderland Minster Church of St. Michaels and All Angels is a church in Sunderland city centre, England. It was known as St. Michael's Church, serving the parish of Bishopwearmouth, but was renamed on 11 January 1998 in recognition of Sunderland's city status. In May 2007 the Minister ceased to...

in 1998.